First game in 10 months a win over rival Leafs
Tkachuk leads the way with three points as Ottawa strikes first in Battle of Ontario
SENATORS 5, MAPLE LEAFS 3
Clearly, the waiting was the hardest part for the Ottawa Senators.
Returning to the Canadian Tire Centre for the first time in 316 days, the Senators kicked off the season with a convincing 5-3 victory over their provincial rivals from Toronto to start this shortened 56-game sprint in style.
In a Battle of Ontario unlike any other, with no fans in the stands, the new-look Senators put on a show for those watching on TSN in their living rooms across the province by taking Round 1 with what can only be described as a dominant effort against a Maple Leafs team considered a Stanley Cup contender.
The effort was led by a goal and two assists from Brady Tkachuk, along with two points each from Drake Batherson, Josh Norris and defenceman Nikita Zaitsev and key stops from goalie Matt Murray. Derek Stepan, Thomas Chabot, Chris Tierney and Austin Watson also chipped in with goals on Frederik Andersen.
John Tavares, Zach Hyman and Alexander Kerfoot scored on Murray on the 23 shots he faced, while big name Leafs Auston Matthews, Joe Thornton and Mitch Marner were shut down.
Playing his 200th career game, Murray was playing in his first for the Senators after being dealt from Pittsburgh in October.
“Everybody did a heck of job. We had five guys all over the ice and we kept it to the outside,” said Murray. “The guys blocked shots — that's what it takes to win. I just liked the entire effort.”
Friday's game was the first of nine between the Senators and Leafs this season. The second game of the series goes tonight, again in Ottawa.
After making many off-season changes, Senators general manager Pierre Dorion and coach D.J. Smith have set the tone for the way they hope the team will play this year.
Smith promised he would put young players in situations in which they can find success, and he did. Making his NHL debut, Tim Stuetzle got 12:11 of ice time and looked like a newcomer who will need time get comfortable. Norris' two assists were the first of his NHL career, and he looked good playing on a line with Batherson and Tkachuk.
Senators left winger Nick Paul only had one assist, but he made some good plays.
“With the way the schedule is set up, we got a good win tonight, but tomorrow we've got to put our work boots back on because that team's going to come out and they're going to play hard,” said Stepan.
“We've got to do a lot of the same things. Murray shut the door for us and he's got to be our best player. We've got to have that even keel.”
The Senators took control of the game in the second period, grabbing the momentum after scoring three goals in a span of 4:35. Tierney scored at 15:03, firing the puck past Andersen from the slot with an extra attacker on the ice because of a delayed penalty, and the Leafs looking confused.
Only 2:31 earlier, Watson, who was acquired in a trade with the Nashville Predators, scored on his first shot in an Ottawa uniform by firing a wrist shot past Andersen after some good work in the Toronto zone to give the Senators a 3-2 lead. It was Tkachuk who got the roll started by tipping a Zaitsev shot from the boards by Andersen at 10:28 to tie it 2-2.
The Leafs had pulled to a 2-1 lead at 9:15 of the second on Kerfoot's shot from the top of the slot. Murray appeared to be screened on the play. Toronto had been pushing the pace and applying plenty of pressure.
An absolute blast by Chabot with the Senators holding a twoman advantage with 44 seconds left in the first period tied it up at 1-1 after 20 minutes. He took a pass from Batherson, fired a bullet by Andersen high on the glove side, and while there was nobody in the building, you could almost feel the excitement from the fans watching at home.
It was only Chabot's second career power-play goal and it couldn't have come at a better time.
For a while, the Senators looked like a team that hadn't played in 10 months. They got off to a slow start, but did a good job of keeping the Leafs at bay until taking consecutive minor penalties. That set up Hyman's first of the season at 9:59 of the first to give Toronto a 1-0 lead.
“It's an amazing feeling. You miss those winning ways and that's what we've got to preach here if we want to be a playoff team,” said Tkachuk. “Hopefully, we keep going and keep learning from the mistakes, but we got the two points. That's our goal. The pace of play and the physicality is going to determine that.
“We feel good about that.” There was no one to cheer on this Battle of Ontario, so the Senators provided their own soundtrack.